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Distributions, sources, and ecological risks of hexachlorocyclohexanes in the sediments from Haihe Plain, Northern China

  • 11th Forum of the International HCH and Pesticide Association
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Abstract

The levels of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) in the sediments from Haihe Plain, China, were measured by a gas chromatograph with a 63Ni microelectron capture detector. The spatial distributions, possible sources, and potential ecological risks of these compounds were analyzed. The residual level of total HCHs was 33.84 ± 173.37 ng g−1 dry weight (d.w.) with ranges of 0.13 ∼ 1,107.41 ng g−1 d.w. Much higher ΣHCH contents were found in the lower reaches of some rivers and in the mouth of the main stream receiving tributaries. The predominance of β-HCH (36 %) in the sediments was similar to that in the soils from Haihe Plain. The high percentages of γ-HCH (23–41 %) could be detected at 25 % of the sampling sites in the seven river systems. There were statistically significant positive relationships between the contents of HCHs and total organic carbon. Lindane was identified as the primary source of HCHs in the sediments, and it seemed that recent illegal lindane inputs still existed in some areas in Haihe Plain, as indicated by the α-/γ-HCH and β-/(α + γ)-HCH ratios. Severe potential ecological risks of γ-HCH to benthic organisms at some sampling sites were found based on the consensus-based sediment quality guidelines.

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Acknowledgments

Funding was provided by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (no. 40725004), the Key Project of the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (41030529), the Ministry of Environmental Protection (201009032), and the Ministry of Education (20100001110035).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MOE Laboratory for Earth Surface Process, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Fu-Liu Xu, Xiang-Zhen Kong, Wei He, Ning Qin, Ying Zhu & Shu Tao

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  1. Fu-Liu Xu
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  2. Xiang-Zhen Kong
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  3. Wei He
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  4. Ning Qin
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  5. Ying Zhu
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Correspondence to Fu-Liu Xu.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Xu, FL., Kong, XZ., He, W. et al. Distributions, sources, and ecological risks of hexachlorocyclohexanes in the sediments from Haihe Plain, Northern China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 2009–2019 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1226-0

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